Infants and young children are typically incapable of sitting up and supporting themselves while getting a bath. Such support is important, since small children tend to be top-heavy and can easily topple over into their bath water. A caregiver bathing a small child must therefore provide not only cleanse the child, but also provide constant support to prevent the child from injury from falling over in the tub and/or from inhaling bath water.
One means for the caregiver to prove support is for the caregiver to continuously hold onto the child during the bathing process. This is usually difficult for a single caregiver to do, as wet, soapy young children tend to be slippery, all the more so if they squirm. Further, it is undesirable for an individual caregiver to have to constantly hold onto a child during bathing, since this leaves only one free hand with which to actually bath the child. Bathing a child one-handedly increases the likelihood of introducing soapy water into the child's eyes, nose, and/or mouth, causing the child discomfort and actuating even more vigorous squirming.
Another means for supporting a small child at bath time is through the use of a support device. Such devices generally include a support ring or shelf supported by a plurality of support members attached to a base. Examples of such devices are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,158,460 issued Oct. 27, 1992 to Bernstein et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 5,687,433 issued Nov. 18, 1997 to Garner et al. These devices typically include suction cups attached to the base to adhere the bath seat to the bathtub while a child seated therein is being bathed. The base portion functions as the seat while the support members and/or the ring or shelf functions as a front and rear support. The base may have a non-slip surface to prevent the child from sliding within the seat.
While these bath seat devices are adequate to provide some support to a child getting a bath in a tub having a smooth floor, they base-mounted suction cups are less effective in anchoring the seat to a tub having a textured floor. Further, the circular design of the support shelf necessitates a shelf ring having a diameter sized only slightly wider than the child in order to provide adequate support and restraint during the child's bath, making it difficult to insert, adjust, and remove the child from the seat. Also, the non-slip seat surface (in those seats having one) is typically a textured rubber coating, which is somewhat uncomfortable against the child's skin and may cause chafing or abrasion if the child squirms vigorously during bathing.
There is therefore a need for a bath seat capable of securely containing a child during bath time that can be securely anchored in a textured bath tub, that has a comfortable non-skid seat, and that is readily accessible to the caregiver. The present invention is directed toward meeting this need.